Forever Giants:1935 New York Giants(Year 53)

1934 is here.

My WAR calculation is a combination of Baseball-reference and Clay Davenport; I believe it to be the "best" WAR number available for historical comparison. 8 WAR is an MVP quality season.  The record is pythagorean adjusted for 162 games.

1935 91-71

C Gus Mancuso  1.8  

1B Bill Terry 4.5 

2B Mark Koenig 1.45

SS Dick Bartell  3.3

3B Travis Jackson 2.6

LF Jo Jo Moore 3.55 

CF Hank Leiber 4.35

RF Mel Ott 8.15 MVPQ 

2B Hughie Critz -1.15 

2B Al Cuccinello .3

C Harry Danning .25

1B Phil Weintraub  -.1

OF Kiddo Davis .4

SP Carl Hubbell 5.25

SP Hal Schumacher  5.1

SP Roy Parmalee 1.25 

SP Slick Castleman .5 

RP Al Smith 1.95

-Cubs won 21 straight to take the pennant away from the Giants.  

Forever Giants:1934 New York Giants(Year 52)

1933 is here.

My WAR calculation is a combination of Baseball-reference and Clay Davenport; I believe it to be the "best" WAR number available for historical comparison. 8 WAR is an MVP quality season. The record is pythagorean adjusted for 162 games.

1934 100-62

C Gus Mancuso .65 

1B Bill Terry 4.55

2B Hughie Critz 1.4

SS Travis Jackson 3.65

3B Johnny Vergez .25

LF Jo Jo Moore 3.3 

CF George Watkins .05

RF Mel Ott  7.65

IF Blondy Ryan .2 

OF Lefty O Doul 1.3

OF Hank Leiber -.8

SP Carl Hubbell 7.45 

SP Hal Schumacher 4.3 

SP Freddie Fitzsimmons 3.85

SP Roy Parmalee 2.7

RP Joe Bowman .8

-The Dodgers, perhaps motivated by Terry's "is Brooklyn still in the league?' beat the Giants in the final series of the season to cost them the pennant in the same year John McGraw died.  Giants 100 pythag wins is the most since '24.

2014-15 NFL Playoffs - Who to Root For (If you're a Niners fan)

Curiously, the 49ers will not be appearing in the 2014-15 NFL playoffs. Fortunately, this will not cause a massive overreaction and we'll reload for next sea..pardon?

Regardless, a playoff-less year means two things for the conscientious 49er fan (1) catching up on DDT pro wrestling and (2) rooting defensively during the playoffs.  Here should be your approach.

12. Seattle
You're not rooting for the Seahawks.  A year ago, you could, in fact, I did and not only because I felt super confident in its profitability, but because I'm of the mind that having your division rival win the title can be a good thing.  You benefit from whatever level of post Super Bowl hangover that exists ('member that Wilson wasn't black enough about a month and a half ago?  Good times.) they (and not you) become the team taking everyone's best punch and I sort of like feeling the pain of seeing your rival raise the trophy.

But not two years straight.  Not when your organization is a tire fire.  Nope.

I'm likely to pick them to win the NFC again and then to lose the Super Bowl in the most wrenching way possible.  This is what I'd like to see.

11. Denver
This may make your Super Bowl experience challenging.

How you come down on the following indicates a lot about you - some will say you root against the Steelers and Cowboys as what you're protecting is against franchises having more SB wins than the Niners.  I care less about that than do I about Joe Montana; there are very few discussions that go like this "hey, Dallas has 5 Super Bowl wins, one more and they're an all time better franchise than the Niners" but plenty that say "who is the best quarterback ever - well, Manning's SB record has to be held against him."

It's a 20 year battle, being in Joe Montana Legacy Protection, I'm not giving it up yet.  I root for Peyton Manning to lose every time the lights get bright.

10. New England
See Denver, see Tom Brady.

9. Dallas
The Cowboys have won 5 Super Bowls (and they're the Cowboys; my mother's first piece of advice to me was "don't vote Republican, don't put catsup on your hot dog, don't root for the Cowboys")  The Venn diagram crossover among those 3 categories is enormous.

8. Green Bay
See Denver, see Aaron Rodgers. And cheeseheads.

7. Pittsburgh
The Steelers have won 6 Super Bowls; we're very far away from 7 and I'm just sick to death of hearing about those 70s teams.

I recognize that the vast likelihood is that the SB will be played between two of those six teams.

6. Baltimore
A Ravens Super Bowl would mean clips of our SB loss from two years ago and probably a round of Harbaugh stories I'd rather just not wrestle with. Possible bonus - more Ray Rice talk!

5. Carolina
The Panthers are under .500; a team with a worse record than the Niners winning will then be part of the post mortem for the season and aiming for .500 records to just make the tournament is bad strategy, even if it works.

4. Arizona
Similar to my Seattle thought last year, there are benefits to a division rival winning the title (will the Arizona Cardinals win back to back Super Bowls?  This is what I'm saying)

3. Detroit
-The Lions have never played in a Super Bowl, they have no implications toward the Niners at all; you're stuck watching "this means the city is revitalized" pieces unaccompanied by "regressive tax policy and decimation of unions killed American cities" pieces.

2. Indianapolis
-I like Andrew Luck.

1. Cincinnati
Two weeks of "hey, lets talk about the Bengals two previous Super Bowls" highlights.

Forever Giants:1933 World Champion New York Giants(Year 51)

1932 is here.

My WAR calculation is a combination of Baseball-reference and Clay Davenport; I believe it to be the "best" WAR number available for historical comparison. 8 WAR is an MVP quality season. The record is pythagorean adjusted for 162 games.

1933 World Champions (d. Senators in 5) 96-66

C Gil Mancuso  1.55

1B Bill Terry 3.45 

2B Hughie Critz 4.2

SS Blondy Ryan 1.9

3B Johnny Vergez 3.35

LF Jo Jo Moore .95

CF Kiddo Davis .1

RF Mel Ott 4.75                        

OF Lefty O Doul 2.2 

OF Homer Peel -.45

1B Sam Leslie 1.4

2B Bernie James .05

SS Travis Jackson .2 

SP Carl Hubbell 10.1 MVPQ 

SP Hal Schumacher 6.45 

SP Freddie Fitzsimmons 1.95 

SP Roy Parmalee 1.35

RP Hi Bell 2.15
RP Dolf Luque 1.4

-Hubbell, O'Doul, Schumacher, Terry - all NL reps in the first ever All Star Game.  Hubbell threw 20 scoreless innings in the World Series win over the Senators, their first in 11 years (and last for 21).

Forever Giants:1932 New York Giants(Year 50)

1931 is here.

My WAR calculation is a combination of Baseball-reference and Clay Davenport; I believe it to be the "best" WAR number available for historical comparison. 8 WAR is an MVP quality season.  The record is pythagorean adjusted for 162 games.

1932 86-76

C Shanty Hogan .95 

1B Bill Terry 7.25 

2B Hughie Critz 1

SS Doc Marshall  -.9 

3B Johnny Vergez .85

LF Jo Jo Moore .05

CF Freddie Lindstrom .05 (22.05) Last Season

RF Mel Ott 8.25 MVPQ

OF Chick Fullis -.05

IF Gil English -.55

SS Travis Jackson .45 

OF Len Koenecke -.35

OF Ethan Allen -1.2

SP Carl Hubbell 8.05 MVPQ  

SP Freddie Fitzsimmons 1.45 

SP Bill Walker -.1

SP Jim Mooney -.75

RP Dolf Luque 1.05

RP Hi Bell 1.1

RP Hal Schumacher .15

-The Silver Anniversary Giants; McGraw quit midseason after three decades (ten pennants, 3 world titles) and Terry became the first new Giants manager since 1902. 1902! McGraw went Roosevelt to Roosevelt! Freddie Lindstrom finishes up.  

Forever Giants:1931 New York Giants(Year 49)

1930 is here.

My WAR calculation is a combination of Baseball-reference and Clay Davenport; I believe it to be the "best" WAR number available for historical comparison. 8 WAR is an MVP quality season.  The record is pythagorean adjusted for 162 games.

1931 99-63

C Shanty Hogan 3 

1B Bill Terry 6.05 

2B Bill Hunnefield .1

SS Travis Jackson 5.65 

3B Johnny Vergez 1.2

LF Freddy Leach 2

CF Ethan Allen 1.3

RF Mel Ott 5.25 

OF Chick Fullis 1.6

OF Freddie Lindstrom .55 

2B Hughie Critz 1.05 

2B Doc Marshall -.85 

C Bob O’Farrell 0 

SP Freddie Fitzsimmons 3.55

SP Carl Hubbell 4.95 

SP Bill Walker 4.3 

SP Clarence Mitchell -.25 

RP Jack Berly .2

-Ott becomes the youngest National Leaguer to hit 100 homers and two months later gets beaned.  The Giants play a night game in the off season.

Forever Giants:1930 New York Giants(Year 48)

1929 is here.

My WAR calculation is a combination of Baseball-reference and Clay Davenport; I believe it to be the "best" WAR number available for historical comparison. 8 WAR is an MVP quality season. The parenthetical is a career Giants WAR total with the eventual goal of a top 100 Giants of all time. The record is pythagorean adjusted for 162 games.

1930 92-70

C Shanty Hogan 2.5 

1B Bill Terry 7.9

2B Hughie Critz -.75

SS Travis Jackson 5.15 

3B Freddie Lindstrom 5.75 

LF Freddy Leach 1

CF Wally Roettger -.95

RF Mel Ott 5.75 

C Bob O’Farrell 1.2 

OF Ethan Allen -.05

Uti Doc Marshall .65

OF Andy Reese -.7 

SP Bill Walker 2.15 

SP Carl Hubbell 3 

SP Freddie Fitzsimmons 3 

SP Clarence Mitchell  1.55

RP Hub Pruett .55

-The Polo Grounds got a PA system and Bill Terry became the NLs last .400 hitter.  Bancroft comes back after 7 years away to finish his career as a Giant.   

I Pick Football Games, Week 17 2014

Last week is here.

39-49

Carolina +4 Atlanta win
Jax +10 Hou win
NYJ +6 Mia win
SD +3 KC loss
Cle +13.5 Balt win

4-1
43-50

Forever Giants:1929 New York Giants(Year 47)

1928 is here.

My WAR calculation is a combination of Baseball-reference and Clay Davenport; I believe it to be the "best" WAR number available for historical comparison. 8 WAR is an MVP quality season. The record is pythagorean adjusted for 162 games.

1929 97-67

C Shanty Hogan .4

1B Bill Terry 4.4

2B Andy Cohen .9

SS Travis Jackson 6.6

3B Freddie Lindstrom 2.8 

LF Freddy Leach -1.2

CF Edd Roush 1.45

RF Mel Ott 7.7

OF Chick Fullis -.4

C Bob O’Farrell .65

2B Andy Reese .2

IF Doc Farrell -1.35

OF Jimmy Welsh -.8

SP Carl Hubbell 3.45 

SP Larry Benton 1.35 

SP Freddy Fitzsimmons 1.55 

SP Bill Walker 3.3

SP Dutch Henry 1.3

RP Carl Mays 1.5

-27 years of John McGraw, only 3 below 90 pythagorean wins as the decade ends. Jack Scott ends a nice Giants career; Carl Mays pitches his final season with the Giants - Edd Roush started his career with the Giants and nearly finishes it as well, but will come back and play another season with the Reds.  You may recall this when Mathewson retired, but they played toghether and now Roush plays with Ott.

Conner played with Davis played with Matthewson played with Roush played with Ott.

Hall of Famers connecting the Giants from 1883-1947 (that's when Ott retires).  Ott's going to play with Mize who plays with Irvin who plays with Mays, but we'll cross those bridges.  

Forever Giants:1928 New York Giants(Year 46)

1927 is here.

My WAR calculation is a combination of Baseball-reference and Clay Davenport; I believe it to be the "best" WAR number available for historical comparison. 8 WAR is an MVP quality season. The record is pythagorean adjusted for 162 games.

1928 96-66

C Shanty Hogan 3.35

1B Bill Terry 3

2B Andy Cohen 2.1

SS Travis Jackson 6.3

3B Freddie Lindstrom 6.95

LF Lefty O’Doul .65

CF Jimmy Welsh 2

RF Mel Ott 3.35 

Uti Andy Reese .25 

OF Les Mann -.9

OF Edd Roush -.15 

C Bob O’Farrell .1

SP Larry Benton 6.25 

SP Freddie Fitzsimmons 2.75 

SP Joe Genewich 2.3

SP Carl Hubbell 1.75

SP Vic Aldridge.15

RP Jim Faulkner .55

-Ott joins Terry in the starting lineup and Hubbell becomes a Giant as the next generation of Hall of Famers moves in.

Forever Giants:1927 New York Giants(Year 45)

1926 is here.

My WAR calculation is a combination of Baseball-reference and Clay Davenport; I believe it to be the "best" WAR number available for historical comparison. 8 WAR is an MVP quality season. The record is pythagorean adjusted for 162 games.

1927 90-62

C Zack Taylor -1.2

1B Bill Terry 5

2B Rogers Hornsby 9.3 MVPQ

SS Travis Jackson 5.45 

3B Freddie Lindstrom 2.95 

LF Heinie Mueller .35 

CF Edd Roush -.05

RF George Harper 5.4

Uti Andy Reese -..15

OF Mel Ott -.2

OF Ty Tyson -.45 

SS Doc Farrell 1.95

C Al Devormer -.35

SP Burleigh Grimes 3.2

SP Freddie Fitzsimmons 1.35 

SP Virgil Barnes .6

SP Larry Benton 1.35

RP Dutch Henry  .1

-McGraw's 25th season as Giants manager includes the greatest second baseman of all time, Rogers Hornsby, who has the best Giants season for any player in more than 15 years. Ross Youngs, on the Forever list, who just retired in the off season, dies of Bright's Disease.

Forever Giants:1926 New York Giants(Year 44)

1925 is here.

My WAR calculation is a combination of Baseball-reference and Clay Davenport; I believe it to be the "best" WAR number available for historical comparison. 8 WAR is an MVP quality season. The parenthetical is a career Giants WAR total with the eventual goal of a top 100 Giants of all time. The record is pythagorean adjusted for 162 games.

1926 80-82

C Paul Florence -.6

1B High Pockets Kelly 3.65 (23.3) Last Season

2B Frankie Frisch 4.55 (35.6) Last Season

SS Travis Jackson 4.1 

3B Freddie Lindstrom 3.25

LF Irish Meusel .2 

CF Ty Tyson  .25

RF Ross Youngs  1.4 (27.9) Last Season

OF Heinie Mueller  -.95

1B Bill Terry 1.3 

SS Doc Farrell .7

C Frank Snyder -.1 

OF Billy Southworth .8 

SP Kent Greenfield -.05 

SP Freddie Fitzsimmons 2.5 

SP Virgil Barnes 2.05

SP Jimmy Ring -1.6

SP Hugh McQuillan .1

SP Jack Scott 1.6 

-Future Hall of Famer and the Giants best player, Frankie Frisch, left the club and then eventually got traded in a dispute with McGraw.  17 year old Mel Ott joins the club while Youngs (Pureblood Giant) and Kelly finish up.

2014 Athlete of the Year

December (and the winner of every month in 2014) is here.

Madison Bumgarner.

Runners-up: Rory McIlroy, Breanna Stewart

The signature sports achievement in 2014 was Madison Bumgarner's October, reaching historic levels in the Giants third World Series victory in 5 years, and near mythic levels in his relief appearance in Game 7.  Bumgarner wasn't baseball's best player in 2014, but in the absence of (in any sport) the best player winning the championship, it's the singular achievement of Bumgarner's October (as was also recognized by SI) that pretty clearly outdistanced the field.

I've been doing a version of this since, well, since about 1980, but it's since January of 1990 that all the records (for each month, with runners up) remain intact.  Here's the list.

1990: Joe Montana
1991: Michael Jordan
1992: Mario Lemieux
1993: Michael Jordan
1994: George Foreman
1995: Hakeem Olajuwon
1996: Michael Jordan
1997: Tiger Woods
1998: Mark McGwire
1999: Tiger Woods
2000: Tiger Woods
2001: Barry Bonds
2002: Barry Bonds
2003: Lance Armstrong
2004: Peyton Manning
2005: Reggie Bush
2006: Roger Federer
2007: Tom Brady
2008: Usain Bolt
2009: Manny Pacquiao
2010: Maya Moore
2011: Aaron Rodgers
2012: LeBron James
2013: LeBron James
2014: Madison Bumgarner

Athlete of the Month, December 2014

November is here.

Steph Curry.  Runners-up: LeVeon Bell, Marcus Mariotta, Odell Beckham

That ends the year - here are the nominees for my 25th Annual Athlete of the Year:

January - Kevin Durant

February - Malcolm Smith

March - Breanna Stewart

April- Meb Keflezigh

May - Troy Tulowitzki

June - Lionel Messi

July -  Novak Djokovic

August - Rory McIlroy

September - Serena Williams

October - Madison Bumgarner

November - Aaron Rodgers

December - Steph Curry

Who will be the Athlete of the Year?

My 2015 MLB HOF Ballot

Here's my 2015 Baseball Hall of Fame ballot.  The maximum is 10.

Barry Bonds
Roger Clemens
Randy Johnson
Pedro Martinez
Mike Piazza
Jeff Bagwell
Mike Mussina
Edgar Martinez
Tim Raines
Curt Schilling

Forever Giants: 1925 New York Giants(Year 43)

1924 is here.

My WAR calculation is a combination of Baseball-reference and Clay Davenport; I believe it to be the "best" WAR number available for historical comparison. 8 WAR is an MVP quality season. The record is pythagorean adjusted for 162 games.

1925 84-78

C Frank Snyder .55 

1B Bill Terry 2.2

2B High Pockets Kelly 2.55 

SS Travis Jackson .35 

3B Freddie Lindstrom -.25

LF Irish Meusel 2.85 

CF Billy Southworth -.45 

RF Ross Youngs -.6 

2B Frankie Frisch 2.75 

OF Hack Wilson -.5 

C Hank Gowdy 1.35 

C Grover Hartley .7

SP Jack Scott 6.05 

SP Virgil Barnes 2 

SP Kent Greenfield 1.6

SP Jack Bentley 2 

SP Art Nehf 1.24

SP Freddie Fitzsimmons 2.8

RP Wayland Dean .3

-McGraw missed 30 games with illness, Mathewson died of tuberculosis, the Giants dealt Hack Wilson and had their worst year in a decade. Terry and Lindstrom move into the lineup

Forever Giants: 1924 National League Champion New York Giants(Year 42)

1923 is here.

My WAR calculation is a combination of Baseball-reference and Clay Davenport; I believe it to be the "best" WAR number available for historical comparison. 8 WAR is an MVP quality season.  The record is pythagorean adjusted for 162 games.

1924 NL Champions 101-61 (lost in 7 games to Senators)

C Frank Snyder 1.55 

1B High Pockets Kelly 5.25

2B Frankie Frisch 6.95

SS Travis Jackson 3.5 

3B Heinie Groh 3.65

LF Irish Meusel 1.2 

CF Hack Wilson 1.9 

RF Ross Youngs 5.35

OF Billy Southworth -.9

C Hank Gowdy 1.7 

1B Bill Terry .15 

OF Jimmy O’Connell .3 

2B Freddie Lindstrom .05

SP Virgil Barnes 3.25 

SP Jack Bentley 1.75 

SP Hugh McQuillan 2.7 

SP Art Nehf 2.45 

SP Wayland Dean -1.4

RP Rosy Ryan -.4

-Backup outfielder Jimmy O'Connell gets banned for life for suspected collusion with the Phillies; the Giants win their fourth straight pennant, losing in 7 games when a bad bounce allowed the Senators to tie the score in the 8th, they'd win it in the 12th.  

Forever Giants: 1923 National League Champion New York Giants(Year 41)

1922 is here.

My WAR calculation is a combination of Baseball-reference and Clay Davenport; I believe it to be the "best" WAR number available for historical comparison. 8 WAR is an MVP quality season.  The record is pythagorean adjusted for 162 games.

1923 97-65 NL Champions (loss to Yankees in 6)

C Frank Snyder .85 

1B High Pockets Kelly 3.2

2B Frankie Frisch 6.25 

SS Dave Bancroft 4

3B Heinie Groh 3.05 

LF Irish Meusel 1.25
CF Bill Cunningham -.45

RF Ross Youngs 2.9

SS Travis Jackson 1.75 

OF Jimmy O’Connell -.15

OF Casey Stengel 1.25 

C Hank Gowdy 1.35

SP Hugh McQuillan 2.6

SP Jack Scott 2.2

SP Art Nehf -.25 

SP Jack Bentley 1.55

SP Mule Watson 1.4

RP Rosy Ryan 1.7

-Giants go wire to wire to win their third straight pennant, but lost the Series to the Yankees in 6. Bancroft's been one of the Giants best 1-2 players every season, he and Frisch really the engine of this stretch of great Giants clubs, but this finishes him up until a brief return in 1930. Bill Terry and Hack Wilson get cups of coffee.  

I Pick Football Games, Week 16 2014

Last week is here

I'm 38-45, but, for what it's worth, I am in the title game for all 3 fantasy leagues.

TB +10.5 GB loss
Carol +1.5 Cle win
Buff -5.5 Oak loss
Indy +3 Dall loss
Den -3 Cin loss

39-49

2014-2015 College Bowl Predictions

I finished the regular season 12 under .500 ATS, so keep that in mind.

Here are my picks, where my straight winner differs from my ATS winner, I'll note.

R+L Carriers New Orleans Nevada vs. UL Lafayette  Dec. 20 / 11am ESPN
Nevada +1

ATS:0-1
SU: 0-1

Gildan New Mexico Utah State vs. UTEP  Dec. 20 / 2:20pm ESPN
UTEP+10.5, Utah St straight

ATS: 0-2
SU: 1-1

Royal Purple Las Vegas Utah vs. Colorado State  Dec. 20 / 3:30pm ABC
Colorado St. +4.5 Utah straight

ATS: 0-3
SU: 2-1

Famous Idaho Potato Western Michigan vs. Air Force  Dec. 20 / 5:45pm ESPN
Western Michigan -1.5

ATS: 0-4
SU: 2-2

Raycom Media Camellia South Alabama vs. Bowling Green  Dec. 20 / 9:15pm ESPN
South Alabama -3

ATS: 0-5
SU: 2-3

Miami Beach Bowl BYU vs. Memphis  Dec. 22 / 2pm ESPN
Memphis -1

ATS: 1-5
SU: 3-3

Boca Raton Bowl Marshall vs. Northern Illinois  Dec. 23 / 6pm ESPN
Marshall -10

ATS: 2-5
SU: 4-3

San Diego County CU Poinsettia Navy vs. San Diego State  Dec. 23 / 9:30pm ESPN
Navy +3

ATS: 3-5
SU: 5-3

Popeyes Bahamas Central Michigan vs. WKU Dec. 24 / Noon ESPN
WKU -2.5

ATS: 3-6 (wow, what a loss that is)
SU: 6-3

Sheraton Hawaii Fresno State vs. Rice  Dec. 24 / 8pm ESPN
Fresno +2

ATS: 3-7
SU: 6-4

Zaxby's Heart of Dallas Illinois vs. Louisiana Tech Dec. 26 / 1pm ESPN
La Tech -6

ATS: 4-7
SU: 7-4

Quick Lane Rutgers vs. North Carolina  Dec. 26 / 4:30pm ESPN
Rutgers +3

ATS: 5-7
SU: 8-4

Bitcoin St. Petersburg NC State vs. UCF  Dec. 26 / 8pm ESPN
UCF -1.5

ATS: 5-8
SU: 8-5

Military Cincinnati vs. Virginia Tech  Dec. 27 / 1pm ESPN
VT +3.5

ATS: 6-8
SU: 9-5

Hyundai Sun Arizona State vs. Duke Dec. 27 / 2pm CBS
Duke +8 Arizona St straight

ATS: 7-8
SU: 10-5

Duck Commander Independence Miami, FL vs. South Carolina  Dec. 27 / 3:30pm ABC
Miami -3
ATS: 7-9
Straight: 10-6

New Era Pinstripe Boston College vs. Penn State  Dec. 27 / 4:30pm ESPN
Penn St +2.5 BC straight

ATS: 8-9
SU: 10-7

National University Holiday Nebraska vs.  USC  Dec. 27 / 8pm ESPN
USC -6

ATS: 8-10
SU: 11-7

AutoZone Liberty Texas A&M vs. West Virginia  Dec. 29 / 2pm ESPN
WVA -3.5

ATS: 8-11
SU: 11-8

Russell Athletic Clemson vs. Oklahoma Dec. 29 / 5:30pm ESPN
Clemson +3

ATS: 9-11
SU: 12-8

AdvoCare Texas Arkansas vs. Texas  Dec. 29 / 9pm ESPN
Texas +5.5, Arkansas straight

ATS: 9-12
SU: 13-8

Franklin Amer. Mort. Music City Notre Dame vs. LSU  Dec. 30 / 3pm ESPN
ND +7.5, LSU straight

ATS: 10-12
SU: 13-9

Belk Georgia vs. Louisville Dec. 30 / 6:30pm ESPN
Louisville +7 UGA straight

ATS: 10-13
SU: 14-9

Foster Farms Maryland vs. Stanford Dec. 30 / 10pm ESPN
Maryland +14, Stanford straight

ATS:10-14
SU: 15-9

Chick-fil-A Peach Ole Miss vs. TCU Dec. 31 / 12:30pm ESPN
Ole Miss +3.5

ATS: 10-15
SU: 15-10

Vizio Fiesta Boise State vs. Arizona Dec. 31 / 4pm ESPN
Boise +3.5 Arizona straight

ATS: 11-15
SU: 15-11

Capital One Orange Mississippi St. vs. Georgia Tech  Dec. 31 / 8pm ESPN
GT +7

ATS: 12-15
SU: 16-11

Outback Auburn vs. Wisconsin  Jan. 1 / Noon ESPN2
Auburn -6

ATS: 12-16
SU: 16-12

Goodyear Cotton  Michigan State vs. Baylor  Jan. 1 / 12:30pm ESPN
Baylor -3

ATS: 12-18
SU: 17-13

Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus  Minnesota vs. Missouri  Jan. 1 / 1pm ABC
Minn +5.5 Missouri straight

ATS: 12-17
SU: 17-12

Rose Bowl  (Semifinal) Oregon vs. Florida State  Jan. 1 / 5pm ESPN
FSU +9.5 Oregon straight

ATS: 12-19
SU: 18-13

Allstate Sugar (Semifinal) Alabama vs. Ohio State Jan. 1 / 8:30pm ESPN
Ohio St +9.5 Alabama straight

ATS: 13-19
SU: 18-14

Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Houston vs. Pittsburgh Jan. 2 / Noon ESPN
Houston +3 Pitt

ATS: 14-19
SU: 19-14

TaxSlayer Iowa vs. Tennessee  Jan. 2 / 3:20pm ESPN
Iowa +3.5 Tenn straight

ATS: 14-20
SU: 20-14

Valero Alamo  Kansas State vs.  UCLA Jan. 2 / 6:45pm ESPN
UCLA +1.5

ATS: 15-20
SU 21-14

TicketCity Cactus Washington vs. Oklahoma State Jan. 2 / 10:15pm ESPN
Wash -5.5

ATS: 15-21
SU: 21-15

Birmingham East Carolina vs. Florida Jan. 3 / Noon ESPN
ECU +7.5 Florida straight
ATS: 15-22
SU: 22-15

GoDaddy Toledo vs. Arkansas State  Jan. 4 / 9pm ESPN
Tol -3
ATS: 16-22
SU: 23-15

Forever Giants: 1922 World Champion New York Giants(Year 40)

1921 is here.

My WAR calculation is a combination of Baseball-reference and Clay Davenport; I believe it to be the "best" WAR number available for historical comparison. 8 WAR is an MVP quality season. The record is pythagorean adjusted for 162 games.

1922 World Champions (d. Yankees 4-0) 100-62

C Frank Snyder 1.85 

1B High Pockets Kelly 4.25

2B Frankie Frisch 4.6

SS Dave Bancroft 6.65

3B Heinie Groh 2.15 

LF Irish Meusel 1.55

CF Casey Stengel 2.5

RF Ross Youngs 3.2 

2B Johnny Rawlings 1.4 

C Earl Smith 1.05 

OF Bill Cunningham .35

OF Ralph Shinners -1.05

SP Art Nehf 2.8 

SP Jesse Barnes .75 

SP Phil Douglas 2.85 

SP Rosy Ryan 1.85

- It's the 40th year of Giants baseball - The Giants again beat the Yankees in the last year they'd share a stadium, spitballer Douglas got kicked out of the league for trying to jump to the Cardinals.  18 year old Travis Jackson gets a cup of coffee.  

Forever Giants: 1921 World Champion New York Giants(Year 39)

1920 is here.

My WAR calculation is a combination of Baseball-reference and Clay Davenport; I believe it to be the "best" WAR number available for historical comparison. 8 WAR is an MVP quality season. The record is pythagorean adjusted for 162 games.

1921 100-62 World Champs (d Yanks 5-3)

C Frank Snyder  3.05 

1B High Pockets Kelly 3.7

2B Johnny Rawlings .35

SS Dave Bancroft 6.95

3B Frankie Frisch 6.85 

LF George Burns 1.35 (33.25) Last Season

CF Irish Meusel .3

RF Ross Youngs 2.85 

C Earl Smith 2.7 

OF Curt Walker .5

3B Goldie Rapp -.35

OF Eddie Brown -.25
OF Lee King -.75

SP Art Nehf 2.2 

SP Jesse Barnes 2.4

SP Fred Toney 1.9 

SP Phil Douglas -.3 

RP Rosy Ryan .5


-With aid of a backup outfielder named Casey Stengel, the Giants win their first World Series in 16 years knocking off the Yankees in 8 games.  George Burns finishes up, through 2016 he was still a top 30 all Time Giant.  

2015 Professional Wrestling Matches of the Year

And we're underway.

So, this year we'll go with three lists.  At the top will be the ongoing ranking of every 4 1/2+ and up matches I see this year.

Next, the WWE 4 star and up matches; previously, I've also included 4 star matches from TNA; if any occur, I'll include them as well.

Finally, a grab bag of 4 and 4 1/4 matches.  They won't be ranked, nor should they be seen as comprehensive, just a list as I see them.

I'm done.  This is the final list.  The 34 best wrestling matches of 2015.

Matches of the Year
1. Nakamura v. Ibushi (NJPW, Jan) 5
2. Kushida v. O'Reilly (NJPW, June) 5
3. Harashima v. Ibushi (DDT, Feb) 5
4. Ishii v. Honma (NJPW, Feb) 5
5. Ishii v. Honma (NJPW, Nov) 4 3/4
6. Harada v. Kotoge (NOAH, Jan) 4 3/4
7. Yoshino/Boy v. Susumu/Kagetora (DG, Apr) 4 3/4
8. Strong v. Bailey (PWG, June) 4 3/4
9. Nakamura v. Tanahashi (NJPW, Aug) 4 1/2
10. Mochizuki v. Shingo (DG, Nov) 4 1/2

11. Suigura v. Suzuki (NOAH, Sep) 4 1/2
12. Ishii v. Elgin (NJPW, Aug) 4 1/2
13. Ishii v. Honma (NJPW, Aug) 4 1/2
14. Harada v. Kotoge (NOAH, Dec 2014) 4 1/2
15. Aero Star/Fenix v. Drago/Pentagon (PWG, Aug) 4 1/2
16. Okada v. Nagata (NJPW, Aug) 4 1/2
17. Tanahashi v. Styles (NJPW, Aug) 4 1/2
18. Tanahashi v. Okada (NJPW, Jan) 4 1/2
19. Okada v. Styles (NJPW, July) 4 1/2
20. Strong v. Lee (PWG, Feb) 4 1/2

21. Hero v. Sabre v. Bailey (PWG, Aug) 4 1/2
22. Hulk/Shingo/Tozawa v. T-Hawk/Eita/Shimizu (July DG) 4 1/2
23. Lesnar v. Rollins v. Cena (Royal Rumble, Jan) 4 1/2
24. Go v. Miyahara (AJPW, Mar) 4 1/2
25. Hero v. Gulak (PWG, July) 4 1/2
26. AJ Styles/Matt Jackson/Nick Jackson def. Cedric Alexander/ACH/Matt Sydal (ROH. Feb) 4 1/2
27. Kaz/Kondo v. Minoru Tanaka/Yoshioka (Wrestle 1, Feb) 4 1/2
28. Ibushi v. Shibata (NJPW, July) 4 1/2
29. Ibushi v. Harashima (DDT, Apr) 4 1/2
30. Nakamura v. Okada (NJPW, Aug) 4 1/2

31. Goto v. Ishii (NJPW, Aug) 4 1/2
32. Archer/DBS Jr. v. Nicholls/Haste (NOAH, Feb) 4 1/2
33. Ricochet v. O'Reilly (PWG, Dec 2014) 4 1/2
34. Tanahashi v. Shibata (NJPW, Aug) 4 1/2


Best WWE/TNA Matches
1. Lesnar v. Rollins v. Cena (Royal Rumble, Jan) 4 1/2
2. Zayn v. Neville (NXT, Dec 2014) 4 1/4
3. Cesaro v. Cena (RAW, July) 4 1/4
4. Zayn v. Owens (NXT, Feb) 4 1/4
5. Rollins v. Lesnar v. Reigns (Wrestlemania) 4
6. Lesnar v. Undertaker (HITC, Oct) 4
7. Owens v. Cena (Money in the Bank, June) 4
8. Bayley v. Sasha (NXT, Aug) 4
9. Owens v. Balor (NXT, July) 4
10. Zayn v. Neville (NXT, Jan) 4

11. Neville v. Balor (NXT, Feb) 4
12. Bryan v. Reigns (Fast Lane, Feb) 4
13. Wyatt v. Reigns (HIAC, Oct) 4
14. Angle v. Aries (Impact, June) 4
15. Ziggler v. Harper (TLC, Dec 2014) 4
16. Aries v. Richards (TNA Slammiversary , July) 4
17. Owens v. Cena (Elimination Chamber, May ) 4
18. Rollins v. Cena (Summer Slam, Aug) 4
19. Rollins v. Cena (Night of Champions, Sep) 4


Additional 4 Star Matches
Akiyama/Omori v. Go/Miyahara (AJPW, Dec) 4

Johnny Mundo v. Big Ryck/Prince Puma (Lucha Underground Dec)4 ¼ 
Battle Royal (Lucha Underground Jan) 4
Red Dragon v. Time Splitters (ROH, Dec 2014) 4 1/4
Jay Briscoe v. Adam Cole (ROH, Dec 2014) 4
Shingo v. Hulk (DG, December 2014) 4 1/4
Marufuji v. Kojima (NOAH, Jan) 4
Sugiura/Tanaka v. Nicholls/Haste (NOAH, Jan) 4 1/4
Red Dragon v. Forever Hooligans v. Time Splitters v. Young Bucks (NJPW, Jan) 4
Ishii v. Makabe (NJPW, Jan) 4
AJ v. Naito (NJPW, Jan) 4
Harashima/Takeshita/Endo v. Ibushi/Sekimoto/Okabayashi (DDT, Jan) 4
Hulk v Susumu (DG, Feb) 4 1/4
Tanahashi v. Styles (NJPW, Feb) 4
O'Reilly v. Strong (PWG, Dec) 4
Takeshita/Endo v. Sekimoto/Okabayashi (KOD, Feb) 4 1/4
Aoki v. Kotaro (AJPW, Feb) 4 1/4
Fish/O'Reilly v. Bucks (ROH, Mar) 4 1/4
Thatcher v. Hero (WWN, Mar) 4 1/4
Tanaka/Sugiura v. Sekimoto/Sato (Zero One Mar) 4
Kzy v. Tozawa (DG, Mar) 4 1/4
Yuji v. Nakamura (NJPW, Feb) 4
Ibushi v. Naito (NJPW, Feb) 4 1/4
Fenix v. Muertes (Lucha Underground, Mar) 4 1/4
Mark & Jay Briscoe & Raymond Rowe & Hanson & Roderick Strong beat The Bullet Club of A.J. Styles & Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows & Young Bucks (ROH, May) 4
ACH/Sydal v. Tanahashi/Naito (ROH, June) 4
Tanaka v. Shingo (Zero 1, Mar) 4
Sato/Ishikawa v. Sekimoto/Okabayashi (BJ, May) 4
Kodaka v. Hidaka (Union, May) 4
Styles/Bucks v. Okada/Romero/Barretta 4 (ROH, June) 4 1/4
Harashima v. Kudo (May DDT) 4 1/4 
Hawk v Hulk (DG, June) 4
Ibushi b. Styles (NJPW Apr) 4
End v. Hero (PWG Apr) 4 1/4
Strong v. Sabre (PWG Apr) 4 1/4 
Bullet Club v. Kingdom (ROH June) 4
Lethal v. Briscoe (ROH June) 4
Cima/Ricochet/Sydal v. Yamato/Doi/Yoshino (July, DG) 4 1/4 
Kushida v. Omega (NJPW, July) 4
Goto v. Nakamura (NJPW, July) 4
Sydal v. Ricochet (PWG, Feb) 4
Sekimoto v. Okabayashi (BJ, July) 4 1/4
Hero v. Lee (Evolve, July) 4 1/4
Strong v. Sabre (Evolve, July) 4 1/4
Eita v. Tozawa (DG, July) 4
Yamato/Doi v. Ricochet/Sydal (DG, July) 4
Yoshino v. THawk (DG, July) 4 1/4
Okada v. Ishii (Aug NJPW) 4
Ibushi v. Naito (Aug NJPW) 4
Puma v. Muertes (Aug, Lucha Underground) 4
Bucks v. Romero/Barretta (ROH, Aug) 4
Sugiura v. Marufuji (NOAH, Aug) 4
Harada v. Kotoge (NOAH, Aug) 4
Hero v. Sabre (PWG, June) 4 1/4
Bucks v. Everett/Lee (PWG, June) 4
Lee v. Ciampa (PWG, July) 4
Bailey v. Hero (PWG, July) 4 1/4 
Tanahashi v. Ibushi (NJPW, July) 4 1/4 
Shibata v. Naito (NJPW, July) 4
Honma v. Okada (NJPW, July) 4
Ibushi v. Styles (NJPW, July) 4
Tanahashi v. Naito (NJPW, July) 4 1/4
Goto v. Okada (NJPW, Aug) 4 
Nakamura v. Honma (NJPW, Aug) 4
Lethal v. Strong (ROH, Sep) 4
Thatcher v. Sabre (Evolve, Aug) 4
Marufuji v. Sugiura (NOAH, Aug) 4 1/4 Red Dragon v. Young Bucks (NJPW, Aug) 4
Ricochet v. Kushida (NJPW, Aug) 4 1/4 
Makabe v. Ibushi (NJPW, Sep) 4
Time Splitters v. Redragon (NJPW, Sep) 4 1/4
Nakamura v. Goto (NJPW, Sep) 4
Strong v. Okada (ROH, Aug) 4 1/4
Kotoge v. Marufuji (NOAH, Sep) 4
Ishii v. Makabe (NJPW, Oct) 4 1/4 
Styles v. Okada (NJPW, Oct) 4 1/4 
Sydal/Ricochet v. Shelley/Kushida (NJPW, Oct) 4
Busick v. Everett (PWG, Aug) 4
Andrews v. Ospreay (PWG, Aug) 4
Sydal v. Fenix (PWG, Aug) 4 1/4
Sydal/Ricochet v. Bucks (NJPW, Nov) 4
Thatcher v. Hero (PWG, Aug) 4
Bailey v. Galloway (PWG, Aug) 4 1/4
Sydal v. Ricochet (PWG, Aug) 4
Bucks/Super Dragon v. Busick/Everett/Lee (PWG, Aug) 4 1/4
Sydal v. Ospreay (PWG, Aug) 4 1/4 
Bucks/Strong/SDragon v. Ricochet/Swann/Fenix/Angelico (PWG, Aug) 4
Benjamin v. Marufuji (NOAH, Nov) 4
Sydal/Ricochet v. Roppongi Vice (NJPW, Nov) 4
Nakamura v. Anderson (NJPW, Nov) 4
Yamato/Doi v. Yoshino/T-Hawk (DG, Nov) 4 1/4

 

Forever Giants: 1920 New York Giants(Year 38)

1919 is here.

My WAR calculation is a combination of Baseball-reference and Clay Davenport; I believe it to be the "best" WAR number available for historical comparison. 8 WAR is an MVP quality season.  The record is pythagorean adjusted for 162 games.

1920 98-64

C Frank Snyder 1.4

1B High Pockets Kelly 1.95

2B Larry Doyle 1.9 (34.8) Last Season

SS Dave Bancroft 5.85

3B Frankie Frisch 3.4

LF George Burns 4.65

CF Lee King -.95

RF Ross Youngs 5.7

C Earl Smith 1.6

OF Benny Kauff .3

SS Art Fletcher .65(42.3)Last Season

OF Vern Spencer -.7

IF Ed Sicking -.85

SP Jesse Barnes 2.15

SP Art Nehf 2

SP Fred Toney 2.95

SP Rube Benton -.25

RP Phil Douglas 1.4

-Art Fletcher, an all time Giant great, gets moved for Dave Bancroft, who is on his way to the HOF.  Larry Doyle also finishes, as the middle infield leaves together. Mathewson returns as a coach, McGraw picks up both tuberculosis and a fractured skull from a bar fight.  The latter from the fight.  Maybe the TB too.  Look at Frankie Frisch work his way into the lineup at the age of 22.

Forever Giants: 1919 New York Giants(Year 37)

1918 is here.

My WAR calculation is a combination of Baseball-reference and Clay Davenport; I believe it to be the "best" WAR number available for historical comparison. 8 WAR is an MVP quality season.  The record is pythagorean adjusted for 162 games.

1919 99-63

C Lew McCarty .75 

1B Hal Chase 1.4

2B Larry Doyle 4.4

SS Art Fletcher 5.35

3B Heinie Zimmerman 2.3

LF George Burns 4.55

CF Benny Kauff 1.55

RF Ross Youngs  3.75

3B Frankie Frisch .15

C Mike Gonzalez -.7

1B High Pockets Kelly .35 

SP Jesse Barnes 3.95

SP Rube Benton 2.1

SP Fred Toney 3.8

SP Red Causey -1.25 

SP Art Nehf 2.9

RP Jean Dubuc .5

-Charles Stoneham buys the club with McGraw as a minority partner; Hal Chase punches a cop and is then gunned down in the streets of Ferguson, Missouri (kidding, nothing happens to him). And Mathewson returns from the War as a pitching coach. There's Frankie Frisch.  

The 20 Best Television Shows of 2014

Want a good year end top ten television list?

Throughout the year, I've kept a quarterly record of the best shows, spanning, as you'll see, multiple platforms (I enjoy television shows).

January-March
April-June
July-September
October-December

I made one error in judgment in allowing one show (The Americans) to appear twice, a rule prohibiting that would guarantee 40 shows at year end and provide for the deepest possible year end pool.

So, I've got 39 shows to pick from - here are the 20 best to air in 2014.

1, Mad Men (AMC)
2. Transparent (Amazon)
3. High Maintenance (Vimeo)
4. Please Like Me (Pivot)
5. The Americans (FX)
6. Fargo (FX)
7. Louie (FX)
8. Friday Night Tykes (Esq)
9. Veep (HBO)
10. Last Week Tonight (HBO)

11. You're the Worst (FXX)
12. Kroll Show (Comedy Central)
13. The Chair (Starz)
14. The Daily Show (Comedy Central)
15. All In With Chris Hayes (MSNBC)
16. The Colbert Report (Comedy Central)
17. The Rachel Maddow Show (MSNBC)
18. Girls (HBO)
19. Review (Comedy Central)
20. True Detective (HBO)

(I binge watched Broad City at the very end of the year; it would make the list)

The 10 Best television shows of 2014 (October-December)

July-Sep is here.

1. Transparent (Amazon)
2. High Maintenance (Vimeo)
3. The Chair (Starz)
4. The Comeback (HBO)
5. True Tori (Lifetime)
6. Homeland (Showtime)
7. The Newsroom (HBO)
8. The Rachel Maddow Show (MSNBC)
9. New Girl (Fox)
10. The Faithful (CSNBA)

Forever Giants: 1918 New York Giants(Year 36)

1917 is here.

My WAR calculation is a combination of Baseball-reference and Clay Davenport; I believe it to be the "best" WAR number available for historical comparison. 8 WAR is an MVP quality season. The record is pythagorean adjusted for 162 games.

1918 91-71

C Lew McCarty .6

1B Walter Holke .3

2B Larry Doyle 2.3

SS Art Fletcher 4.95

3B Henie Zimmerman 1.3

LF George Burns 4.65

CF Benny Kauff 1.2

RF Ross Youngs 2.9 

C Bill Rariden -.05 

1B Joe Wilhoit -.25

2B Jose Rodriguez -.7

IF Ed Sicking -.5

OF Jim Thorpe -.75

SP Pol Peritt 1.65

SP Red Causey .5

SP Al Demaree .0

SP Slim Sallee 1.2

SP Jeff Tesreau .8 (23.9) Last Season, Tesreau retires as a Pureblood Giant

-WWI meant a shortened season, another 90 win pythag for McGraw. Tesreau joins the Forever list.  Only one MLB player died in WWI, Eddie Grant, the former Giant.  

I Pick Football Games, Week 15 2014

Last week is here.

36-42

Jax +13.5 Balt win
NYG -6.5 Wash win
Tenn -2 NYJ loss
Cle over Cin loss
Mia +7.5 NE loss

38-45

Forever Giants: 1917 National League Champion New York Giants(Year 35)

1916 is here.

My WAR calculation is a combination of Baseball-reference and Clay Davenport; I believe it to be the "best" WAR number available for historical comparison. 8 WAR is an MVP quality season.  The record is pythagorean adjusted for 162 games.

1917 105-57 NL Pennant (lost Series 4 games to 2 to White Sox)

C Bill Rairden 1.65 

1B Walter Holke .9

2B Buck Herzog 2.2

SS Art Fletcher 6.7 

3B Heine Zimmerman 5.15 

LF George Burns 5.9 

CF Benny Kauff 3.15 

RF Dave Robertson 1.4

C Lew McCarty .4

2B Jimmy Smith .65

SP Ferdie Schupp 4.65 

SP Slim Sallee 1.6

SP Rube Benton .4

SP Pol Peritt 2.45 

SP Jeff Tesreau .2 

RP Fred Anderson 2.6

-McGraw wins his 6th pennant but the Giants again lose (and perhaps, according to rumors at the time, on purpose) the Series.  That capped a tumultuous year where McGraw did a two week suspension for punching an umpire.